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Studio Habibi
New Geographies of Love
When we founded Casa Amar, we were motivated by a simple intuition: that the encounter between cultures can generate authentic beauty, made up of listening, exchange and respect. We were born from an Italian-Moroccan love story, and for us it is natural to translate that union into projects that build bridges between worlds that are only apparently distant. With Studio Habibi, our latest artistic collaboration with Italian-Moroccan photographer Karim El Maktafi, this intention took on a deeply emotional form. It was a natural collaboration: his photographs tell stories of bonds, identity, roots and transformation. Karim approached us with this project based on a very personal image from his archive: a photograph of his father, proud and elegant, taken in Morocco in the 1970s. A black-and-white shot that embodied all the evocative power of a studio portrait. Each image in the series is therefore rooted in that intimate memory, and then opens up to the present, to the stories of real, unique, and beautiful couples. The photographs pay homage to the Arab and African photography studios of the 1970s and 1980s, when portraiture was a rare and solemn opportunity to assert oneself, to celebrate a union, to leave a mark. In these couples we found the same chemistry that gave life to Casa Amar. Each shot is a declaration of love for intermingling, for the possibility of belonging to two worlds—or many—without contradictions . Our handcrafted rugs become stages on which the bodies and stories of these couples unfold. Each rug, hand-knotted by Moroccan artisans, is unique. Chosen by the couple themselves, it has become a symbol of union: the place where two identities intertwine and build something new. The photographs are set against the backdrop of landscapes painted by Giacomo Nathan Viva , an artist and ceramist based in Milan. His visual exploration moves between painting and sculpture, between instinctive gestures and layered symbolism. For Studio Habibi, Giacomo imagined a landscape suspended between dream and memory, evoking both the Moroccan landscape and the backdrops used in Arab and African studies. His backdrop does not simply serve as a backdrop, but enters into a dialogue with the subjects portrayed, amplifying their poetic and emotional dimension. The result is a composition in which each element—carpet, couple, backdrop—contributes to creating a layered, poetic, and universal narrative. Studio Habibi is an ode to diversity and the power of human connection. It's a journey through textures, colors, gazes, and gestures that speak of home, belonging, and possibility. We are grateful to Karim for giving form and light to this shared vision, and to all the couples who have generously opened up about their intimacy. With Studio Habibi, we celebrate the power of encounter.
